Rotating Touchscreen Center Pedestal for Aircraft Cockpit Ergonomics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft cockpit interfaces, such as those on the center pedestal, are typically oriented parallel to the aircraft centerline, requiring flight crew members to maintain uncomfortable and potentially harmful positions, leading to discomfort and 'head knocking' issues due to the need to rotate their heads or bend their necks and torsos to interact with controls.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a full touchscreen system on the pedestal that allows for the graphical representation of interfaces to be selectively rotated and translated, enabling ergonomic alignment with the crew member's orientation and eliminating the need for physical switches and knobs, with virtual input devices like keyboards and keys that can be oriented perpendicular to the crew member's natural interaction position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional physical controls and displays are oriented parallel to the aircraft centerline, then the interface layout is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but crew members experience discomfort and head knocking issues due to awkward positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The display interface transitions from a fixed physical orientation to a dynamic virtual orientation that can be rotated and repositioned electronically. The full touchscreen display allows virtual controls to be oriented perpendicular to the crew member's natural interaction position, enabling ergonomic adjustment without physical reconfiguration of the entire interface assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface orientation parameter is changed from fixed (parallel to centerline) to variable (rotatable to perpendicular alignment). This allows the display to adapt its angular parameter to match the crew member's seating position and natural line of sight, eliminating the need for awkward head rotation while maintaining a streamlined physical structure.
2Ease of operation
If physical switches and knobs are used on the pedestal, then the interface is tangible and easy to locate, but it requires more space and increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Physical mechanical controls (switches and knobs) are replaced with a full touchscreen display that provides virtual equivalents. The touchscreen uses capacitive or resistive sensing technology to detect touch inputs, substituting mechanical actuation with electronic sensing while maintaining the functional capabilities of the controls in a more compact form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical controls are replicated as virtual representations on the touchscreen display. Virtual switches and knobs are displayed graphically and respond to touch inputs, providing the same functional control without requiring physical hardware. This allows multiple control functions to be packed into a smaller space while maintaining accessibility.
3Ease of operation
If the display interface is rotated to align perpendicular to the crew member, then ergonomic usability is improved, but the physical mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The display orientation is made dynamic through software control rather than fixed physical mounting. The touchscreen can be rotated and repositioned virtually to align perpendicular to the crew member's natural interaction position, achieving ergonomic alignment without requiring complex physical mounting mechanisms that would need to accommodate multiple fixed orientation options.
Data Source
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AI summary
An aircraft system interface has a center pedestal (49) and a touchscreen display (51) carried by the center pedestal (49). The interface has one or more programs including instructions for displaying a virtual input device, instructions for detecting movement of an object on or near the touchscreen display (51), and instructions for rotating the virtual input device displayed on the touchscreen display (51) in response to detecting the movement.